State of California Archives: on Gun Control

Harris said she wants to bring a rational approach to issues such as drug policy and gun control that doesn't cast them as all-or-nothing choices, though she was took liberal positions on those issues. "It's just pretty simple, reasonable stuff.
If somebody has been convicted of a felony that proves them to be a dangerous person, they should not be able to own a gun.
If somebody has been found by a court to be mentally ill to the point that they are
danger to themselves or other people they should not be able to own or possess a gun," she said.

Steve Knight:
Additional restrictive gun control laws are unneeded

Jerry Brown:
Include semiautomatic pistols in unsafe handgun law

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a gun control measure eliminating an exemption for certain semiautomatic pistols from California's unsafe handgun law, Brown's office announced. Assembly Bill 1964 is designed to limit the exemption for single-shot pistols
from the state's unsafe handgun roster, excluding semiautomatic pistols altered to not fire in semiautomatic mode.

Gun control advocates argued the exemption allowed gun dealers to sell temporarily altered single-shot pistols to people who could
convert them back into semiautomatic weapons that do not comply with state safety requirements. The California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees, which opposed the bill, said it will "further narrow California's already onerous and overly
burdensome 'not unsafe' handgun roster and eliminate more firearms from the non-peace officer marketplace," according to a legislative analysis.

The bill passed the Legislature largely on partisan lines, with Democrats in support & Republicans opposed.

Source: Sacramento Bee on 2014 California governor race
Jul 18, 2014

Neel Kashkari:
Require background checks before all firearms sales

Kashkari is fiscally conservative, but supports abortion rights and gay marriage. He owns a gun, but he's in favor of requiring background checks before all firearms sales. In the coming weeks, Kashkari's favorability among the state's
Republican and independent voters will be tested. Kashkari's voting record over the past two decades could also haunt him: Kashkari has failed to vote in nearly half the elections in which he was eligible since 1998.

Brown approved 11 firearms measures that are designed to tighten controls on weapons and ammunition in California. The governor vetoed 7 gun-related bills, including one that would have outlawed semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines, one that
would have allowed Oakland to create its own registry of gun owners, and another that would have essentially prevented the Cow Palace from hosting gun shows. The 18 firearms-related bills on the governor's desk were crafted in the wake of December's
Newtown CT elementary school massacre. Among the gun-related bills signed by the governor:

AB711 bans hunting with lead bullets

SB683 will require people who buy rifles and shotguns to first pass a written firearm safety test

AB170 requires
assault weapon permits to be issued to individuals, rather than to corporations or other groups.

AB1131 extends from 6 months to 5 years the period during which a person who threatens violence is prohibited from purchasing a firearm.

Source: SFGate.com on 2014 California governor's race
Oct 12, 2013

Jerry Brown:
Ban large-capacity kits, but veto other gun restrictions

Excerpts from Legislative Counsel's Digest:

Existing law defines as assault weapon as a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine, or a semiautomatic weapon that has a fixed magazine with a
capacity to accept 10 or more rounds.

This bill would add to that definition a semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine even if it accepts fewer than 10 rounds.

Mark DeSaulnier:
Voted YES on wider definition of assault rifles

Excerpts from Legislative Counsel's Digest:

Existing law defines as assault weapon as a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine, or a semiautomatic weapon that has a fixed magazine with a
capacity to accept 10 or more rounds.

This bill would add to that definition a semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine even if it accepts fewer than 10 rounds.

9/12/13: SB 755: 10-year prohibition on firearm purchases by people convicted of crimes (expanding list to include more misdemeanors); Passed House 45-28-5, passed Senate 25-12-2, Vetoed by governor

Source: California legislative voting records: SB 374
Sep 12, 2013

Mimi Walters:
Voted NO on wider definition of assault rifles

Excerpts from Legislative Counsel's Digest:

Existing law defines as assault weapon as a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine, or a semiautomatic weapon that has a fixed magazine with a
capacity to accept 10 or more rounds.

This bill would add to that definition a semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine even if it accepts fewer than 10 rounds.

9/12/13: SB 755: 10-year prohibition on firearm purchases by people convicted of crimes (expanding list to include more misdemeanors); Passed House 45-28-5, passed Senate 25-12-2, Vetoed by governor

Source: California legislative voting records: SB 374
Sep 12, 2013

Norma Torres:
Voted YES on wider definition of assault rifles

Excerpts from Legislative Counsel's Digest:

Existing law defines as assault weapon as a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine, or a semiautomatic weapon that has a fixed magazine with a
capacity to accept 10 or more rounds.

This bill would add to that definition a semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine even if it accepts fewer than 10 rounds.

9/12/13: SB 755: 10-year prohibition on firearm purchases by people convicted of crimes (expanding list to include more misdemeanors); Passed House 45-28-5, passed Senate 25-12-2, Vetoed by governor

Source: California legislative voting records: SB 374
Sep 12, 2013

Steve Knight:
Voted NO on wider definition of assault rifles

Excerpts from Legislative Counsel's Digest:

Existing law defines as assault weapon as a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine, or a semiautomatic weapon that has a fixed magazine with a
capacity to accept 10 or more rounds.

This bill would add to that definition a semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine even if it accepts fewer than 10 rounds.

9/12/13: SB 755: 10-year prohibition on firearm purchases by people convicted of crimes (expanding list to include more misdemeanors); Passed House 45-28-5, passed Senate 25-12-2, Vetoed by governor

Source: California legislative voting records: SB 374
Sep 12, 2013

Ted Lieu:
Voted YES on wider definition of assault rifles

Excerpts from Legislative Counsel's Digest:

Existing law defines as assault weapon as a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine, or a semiautomatic weapon that has a fixed magazine with a
capacity to accept 10 or more rounds.

This bill would add to that definition a semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine even if it accepts fewer than 10 rounds.

9/12/13: SB 755: 10-year prohibition on firearm purchases by people convicted of crimes (expanding list to include more misdemeanors); Passed House 45-28-5, passed Senate 25-12-2, Vetoed by governor

Source: California legislative voting records: SB 374
Sep 12, 2013

Rocky Chavez:
Voted NO on wider definition of assault rifles

Excerpts from Legislative Counsel's Digest:

Existing law defines as assault weapon as a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine, or a semiautomatic weapon that has a fixed magazine with a
capacity to accept 10 or more rounds.

This bill would add to that definition a semiautomatic centerfire rifle without a fixed magazine even if it accepts fewer than 10 rounds.

As lawmakers began to consider more than a dozen gun control measures, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa flew to Sacramento to urge them to take "dramatic and heroic" action. Villaraigosa referred to mass shootings, including the one that killed 20
children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in asking lawmakers to approve a package of bills dubbed as the "Life Act."

The proposals include requirements for licenses and background checks for those buying ammunition. They also would
close loopholes on the possession of assault weapons with large-capacity magazines. "We have seen too many children killed or living in the aftermath of horrific violence," Villaraigosa told a packed hearing of the Senate Public Safety Committee. "You
have before you the opportunity to make our laws stronger, an opportunity to make California a leader again on the issue of gun violence," he added.

The NRA said the legislation violates their constitutional rights and punishes law-abiding gun owners.

Antonio Villaraigosa:
Member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Mayors in 700 cities joined in support of President Barack Obama's call for Congress to adopt the most sweeping gun control measures in more than 20 years, including increased background checks and bans on assault weapons and large ammunition clips.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a member of the national Mayors Against Illegal Guns campaign, said: "We know, because we've been through this before, through the passage of time, resolution to change withers. This time, we cannot allow that to happen."

Villaraigosa said he supports the package presented by Obama, adding he will seek to have the city's three pension funds divest themselves of any money invested with arms or ammunition manufacturers. "I don't want to see the city make one quarter, not
one dime, from the manufacturers of these weapons of war," Villaraigosa said. The mayor said he was asking for a report on the extent of the investments and what would be involved in any divestment strategy.

When he was speaker of the state Assembly, Villaraigosa was the co-author of legislation banning the sales of assault weapons and Saturday night specials in the state. "California should join with
New York in again becoming a national leader on this issue," Villaraigosa said. The New York legislature this week adopted a series of tough measures designed to control gun sales.

Antonio Villaraigosa:
Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines

Q: You are one of the mayors who is trying to do something about guns. What do you want to see in that field?

VILLARAIGOSA: You know, after Newtown, the massacre of 22 children in an elementary school, we can find a middle ground here. I do believe
that we need an assault weapons ban. In California, I was one of the authors of the assault weapons ban. It's important. I think we need to ban high-capacity magazines. We need universal background checks. Right now 40% of all the sales of guns and
assault weapons are done privately. And you don't need a background check for that. We need to repeal the Tiahrt amendments which say that you have to throw away a background check after 24 hours and really limits the ability of the federal, state,
and local governments to work together to get guns out of the hands of criminals and people that shouldn't have them, the mentally ill. We've got to do a lot more to provide mental health services, and fortify our mental health registries.

Jared Huffman:
2nd amendment right is not absolute

Q: Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?

A: Yes. The 2nd amendment right to keep and bear arms is not absolute.
I support the Brady Campaign and other common-sense reforms that respect a limited right to own guns for hunting and personal safety, coupled with reasonable restrictions on gun ownership to protect the public and members of the law enforcement community

Dan Quayle:
Instant gun checks OK, but real issue is self-control

The quick fix artists are now in a frenzy over guns [due to the Littleton killings]. Certainly there are things we can do concerning guns. The instant check system works. And we need to enforce the laws on the books that deal with gun violence. But the
overriding issue isnít really gun control, itís self-control. A child who loves God, honors his parents, and respects his neighbors will not kill anyone. In our hearts we know that the answer to tragedies like Littleton is in changing the culture.

Source: Speech to the Commonwealth Club of California
May 19, 1999

The above quotations are from State of California Politicians: Archives.